Fluorinated activated carbon with superb kinetics for the supercapacitor application in nonaqueous electrolyte

Fluorinated activated carbon (F-AC) exhibits significantly improved electrochemical capacitive performance compared to raw activated carbon (R-AC). F-AC electrode shows a specific capacitance coming up to 19.8 F cm(-3), whereas the capacitance of R-AC electrode is 18.4 F cm(-3). Besides, the kinetic enhancement of F-AC is also memorable. This phenomenon indicates that F-AC tends to form electric double-layer ions on its surface more rapidly than does R-AC. This formation is a result of the increased electrical conductivity attributed to the semi-ionic bonding character between fluorine and activated carbon. The electrochemical improvement of F-AC proves that fluorination is a very effective method for providing greater possibilities for supercapacitor applications of AC in nonaqueous electrolytes. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.